per capita

adverb or adjective

per cap·​i·​ta (ˌ)pər-ˈka-pə-tə 

1

: per unit of population : by or for each person

the highest income per capita of any state in the union

2

: equally to each individual

Synonyms

• a shot
• each
• per
• a pop

Examples of per capita in a Sentence

we expect the students to receive less funding per capita this year due to a marked increase in the school-age population

Recent Examples on the Web

Yearly growth is now projected to again exceed three percent, with income per capita set to surpass that of Japan. —Tom O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Sep. 2025

But when lottery sales are calculated per capita, Massachusetts leads the pack, with the average adult spending nearly $900 a year on lottery games. —Christopher Cann, USA Today, 6 Sep. 2025

Retiree activities relied on statistics about the number of museums, theaters and other venues per capita. —Reia Li, AZCentral.com, 5 Sep. 2025

This comes at a time when most global brands have been looking at expansion plans for India, including upping their physical store presence as well as e-commerce efforts as consumption is expected to almost double from the present $2,000 per capita by 2030. —Mayu Saini, Sourcing Journal, 5 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Medieval Latin, by heads

First Known Use

1682, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Kids Definition

per capita

adverb or adjective

per cap·​i·​ta (ˌ)pər-ˈkap-ət-ə 

: by or for each person

per capita income

Legal Definition

per capita

adverb or adjective

per cap·​i·​ta pər-ˈka-pə-tə 

1

: equally to each individual

all property to pass to the descendants per capita

—used of a method of distributing an especially intestate estate compare per stirpes

Note: Per capita distribution of an estate provides each descendant with an equal share of the estate's assets regardless of the degree of his or her kinship. Children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc., all receive equal shares.

2

: per unit of population : by or for each individual

a high per capita tax burden

Etymology

Medieval Latin, by heads